Brighton College bans single-use plastic

Earlier this year, pupils started coming to see me about David Attenborough’s documentary Blue Planet, which exposed the plight of marine life being strangled by plastic in our oceans. Horrified, they asked me how we could play our part in stemming the rising tide of discarded plastic.

A few months later I announced that I intended to ban single-use plastic water bottles, straws and non-biodegradable cups from being used onsite – by pupils and staff alike.

And I intend to make sure this ban is adhered to – I’ve told the pupils that if they’re seen using any of the items then there will be consequences. Initially, we’ll enforce the changes with a system of formal warnings for pupils breaking the rules but there’s also the appetite, if it proves necessary, to use sanctions – in large part because the potential for sanctions highlights the significance of the issue.

I don’t think for one minute that pupils will ignore this ban but if any do, I’ve decided litter picking on the beach – just a few hundred yards from the school’s entrance – is a fitting punishment. We’ll treat plastics and non-biodegradables as anti-social, just like cigarettes.

Incredibly, a third of all UK-caught fish contain plastic. And we’re eating it with no idea of the health consequences. Some 8.5bn straws are used every year in the UK: made of plastic that takes hundreds of years to decompose.

Horrifyingly, between 5m and 13m tonnes of plastic leaks into the world’s oceans each year. As estimates stand, by 2050 the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish.

To ensure that our pupils are regularly hydrated, we’ve installed additional water fountains and water stations. A party of pupils and staff has been set up to research companies producing refillable bottles and when we order them, each will be etched with key environmental messages to remind pupils of our aim.

We’re also looking into trying to switch petrol and diesel vehicles with electric ones onsite. The World Health Organisation has classified diesel as a class-one carcinogen and the cause of thousands of premature deaths in Britain, yet it powers nearly all school minibuses.

I’ve written to major motor manufacturers seeking their support, and asked the school’s science department to establish a Sixth Former research group to analyse the evidence and advise me of possible ways forward.

In the meantime, we’re incentivising the drivers of electric or hybrid cars by installing electric chargers in our school car park.

The plastics ban is starting this term and the reaction from pupils to my announcement has been very encouraging. One Sixth Former wrote to me saying: “It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of plastic and pollution that making any personal changes can feel futile, so this is a chance for us to be part of something which can really make a big difference in the fight against it.”

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